Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A sound and favourable financial climate is necessary for any forward-looking economy to thrive. This, amongst others, includes the extent to which the commercial banks are able to discharge their intermediating role in the demand and supply of credit necessary to sustain commercial businesses. Indeed, in the last decade, the Nigerian banking industry has witnessed swings with the attendant effects on the business community. One of the downsides has been the incidence of loan default which led to many banks recording astronomical levels of bad loans in their 2008 financial reports. The drastic measures taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria of relieving eight CEOs of their jobs in September 2009 further highlights the import of this subject matter. This paper gives an overview of the concept of loan default in Nigerian commercial banks ranging from the causes to the remedies currently in place to checkmate it. A field survey on loan officers, credit analysts and credit risk managers in some select banks was carried out. The findings reveal that the banks have a rather cautious approach to lending with certain classes of loans classified. Causal factors leading to loan delinquencies categorised into environmental, bank specific and borrower specific factors were analysed to have contributed equally to causing loan default in Nigeria. Lastly, the regression results indicated that there was a significant relationship between measures adopted by the banks in the face of increa

Thesis (M.C.M.) -- Lincoln University, 2009. / Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-86).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-131).

This study consists of two essays. The first essay investigates whether non-CEO inside director reputation matters in bank loan contracting. Reputable inside directors (RIDs) can improve borrowers’ financial reporting quality and reduce agency risk in loan contracting. Based on regression analysis of 5,104 loan facilities during 1999-2007 in the U.S., I find that borrowers with reputable inside directors enjoy lower loan interest rate and a smaller number of restrictive covenants, and are less likely to have the loans secured by collateral, compared with borrowers without RIDs. The results still hold after I control for CEO reputation, and address the endogeneity of RIDs and the joint determination of various loan contracting terms. These findings shed new light on the impact of director-level reputation in the context of bank loan market. The second essay investigates whether non-CEO inside directors with reputation incentives affect the effectiveness of a firm’s internal control over financial reporting. Internal control effectiveness is an important indicator of financial reporting quality. Using a large sample of 7,352 firm-year observations from 2004 to 2012, I find that firms with RIDs are less likely to have reported internal control weaknesses (ICWs). I also find that RIDs have a more pervasive impact on account-level ICWs than company-level ICWs. Empirical results also demonstrate that the association between RIDs and ICWs is more pronounced for firms with lower audit quality, higher CEO entrenchment, and higher cost of misreporting. Further test shows that RIDs can help to improve earnings quality through mitigating ICWs. The study results still hold after I control for CEO reputation, employing alternative proxies and estimation methods, and address the potential endogeneity problems of RIDs. The study findings add to the few empirical studies examining the determinants of ICWs and have corporate governance policy implications for regulators by supporting the desirable role of inside directors in terms of efficient contracting.

Thesis (MAcc) --Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study explores the question as to whether income taxpayers are in a more disadvantaged position due to the deletion of section 11(bA) and the replacement thereof with section 11A of the Income Tax Act No.58 of 1962 specifically regarding pre-production raising fees incurred during the expansion of an existing industry. It was found in CSARS v South African Custodial Services (Pty) Ltd that raising fees can be read in under the phrase interest and related finance cost as found in section 11 (bA) and therefore deductible under this provision. Section 11 (bA) was however recently deleted from the South African Income Tax Act and replaced with section 11A. In terms of judicial precedent, stare decisis, it was proved that raising fees will also be deductible in terms of section 24J (section 24J regulates and determines the amount of pre-production raising fees that may be deducted for income tax purposes in terms of section 11A). It was found that pre-production raising fees incurred will be ring-fenced in terms of section 11A until such a time that sufficient taxable income is generated from that specific industry that is being expanded. Section 11 (bA) contains no such ring-fencing restrictions and thus an assessed loss may be created and used against other taxable income of the taxpayer. It was also found that the income tax position of raising fees incurred by the taxpayer is determined by the exact time that the entity starts with the carrying on of a trade in terms of section 11 (bA) and section 11A. To answer the question satisfactorily, four scenarios were examined all with different stages where pre-production raising fees will be deductible in terms of section 11 (bA) and section 11A. The present value of the pre-production raising fees deduction calculated in terms of section 11(bA) and section 11A are compared against each other to ascertain whether or not the income taxpayer is in a more disadvantaged position due to the deletion of section 11(bA) and the replacement thereof with section 11A. It was found that the deletion of section 11 (bA) and the replacement thereof with section 11A is in most cases more detrimental to the taxpayer. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie is om die vraagstuk te ondersoek of belastingpligtiges in ʼn meer nadelige posisie is as gevolg van die skrapping van artikel 11(bA) en vervanging daarvan met artikel 11A van die Inkomstebelastingwet No.58 van 1962 spesifiek in verband met voorproduksie-leningskommissie aangegaan tydens die uitbreiding van ʼn bestaande bedryf. Daar word in CSARS v South African Custodial Services (Pty) Ltd bevind dat leningskommissie ingelees kan word onder die frase rente en verwante finansieringskoste soos gevind in artikel 11(bA) en dus aftrekbaar is in terme van hierdie bepaling. Artikel 11(bA) is egter onlangs uit die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstebelastingwetgewing geskrap en met artikel 11A vervang. In terme van regspresedent, stare decisis, is daar bewys dat leningskommissie ook aftrekbaar is in terme van artikel 24J (wat die aftrekkingsbedrag in terme van artikel 11A reguleer en dus ook aftrekbaar in terme van artikel 11A is). Daar is bevind dat voorproduksie-leningskommissie aangegaan omhein sal word in terme van artikel 11A tot en met die tydstip dat daar genoegsame belasbare inkomste is uit die spesifieke bedryf wat uitgebrei word waarteen hierdie uitgawes afgespeel kan word. Artikel 11(bA) bevat egter geen omheiningsbeperking nie en dus kan ʼn aangeslane verlies geskep en aangewend word teen die belasbare inkomste van die bedrywe wat deur die belastingpligtige verdien word. Daar is verder ook bevind dat die inkomstebelastingposisie van die leningskommissie deur die belastingpligtige aangegaan, bepaal word deur die tydstip waarop die bedryf in aanvang geneem word in terme van artikel 11(bA) en artikel 11A. Ten einde die vraagstuk bevredigend te beantwoord, word vier scenario’s ondersoek wat die aftrekking van voorproduksie-leningskommissie vir inkomstebelastingdoeleindes op verskillende tye ondersoek en vergelyk in terme van artikel 11(bA) en artikel 11A. Die huidige waarde van die voorproduksie-leningskommissie-aftrekking in terme van bogenoemde artikels word met mekaar vergelyk om tot ʼn slotsom te kom rakende of die belastingpligtige in ʼn meer nadelige posisie is as gevolg van die skrapping van artikel 11(bA) en vervanging daarvan met artikel 11A. Daar word bevind dat die skrapping van artikel 11(bA) en vervanging daarvan met artikel 11A in meeste gevalle meer nadelig vir die belastingpligtige is.

This thesis first examines the role of banks in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy by focusing on the eight European new member States of Central and Eastern Europe over the 2004-2013 period. We specifically investigate the influence of monetary policy changes on bank lending activity and if this potential influence is contingent on bank characteristics, such as banks' size, capital, liquidity, risk factor and market power. Moreover, we focus on the prospective role of banks in the monetary policy transmission mechanism in order to reveal any clear trends in banks' lending behaviour during the 2008-2011 financial crisis. Secondly, we investigate the impact of a protracted period of low monetary policy rates on loosening of banks' credit standards regarding enterprises, households and consumer loans through concentrating on the nine Eurozone countries involved since the initiation of the Euro area Bank Lending Survey in the three distinct time frames of pre- (2002Q4-2008Q3), mid- (2008Q4-2010Q4) and post- (2011Q1-2014:Q4) financial crisis. Furthermore, we test the fundamental concept of the risk taking channel by examining excessive risk-taking behaviour by banks in stressed vs. non-stressed countries of the Eurozone. In an additional analysis, the efficacy of the European Central Bank's 3 year Long-Term Refinancing Operations is evaluated in great depth in order to determine whether banks' credit standards have been softened and the degree to which demand for loans has increased. Thirdly, we explore the financing structure of bank lending constrained Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the eleven Eurozone countries by utilising firm-level data over the period of 2009 to 2014. We estimate if bank lending constrained firms demonstrate relatively more usage or requests for alternative financing. Additionally, a comprehensive investigation is presented by unveiling the impact and determinants of various financing constraints including credit lines, bank loans, trade credit and other lending on Eurozone firms. Furthermore, the notion of discouraged borrowers originally formulated by Kon and Storey (2003) is empirically evaluated. Finally, we present the conclusion of our research by further outlining its limitations and prospective scope for future studies.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-85).